Anzac relationship sinks to new depths
A New Zealander and an Australian have set records for their respective countries with their Pacific ocean dive.
On April 8, New Zealander Rob McCallum and Australian Tim Macdonald descended 10,925m in a submersible ocean vehicle to the bottom of The Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, 360km southwest of Guam.
In doing so, they became the deepest diving New Zealander and Australian.
Not only did the duo descend deeper than the height of Mt Everest, they also took some comfort food to new depths.
They also set a more lighthearted record — the world’s deepestever Vegemite sandwich and Anzac biscuits.
‘‘[It] is something only Australasians really understand,’’ Mr Macdonald said.
The purpose of the 12hour dive was to test acoustic navigation equipment that would be used to aid deep ocean research.
The dive was completed by submersible ocean vehicle DSV Limiting Factor, a Triton 36,000/2 submarine owned by private company Caladan Oceanic.
It took humans to the deepest point in each of the world’s five oceans during the 2019 Five Deeps Expedition.
The twoseat submersible can withstand pressures of up to 1400 bar.
The pair’s support team was made up of 34 people of 14 nationalities, but McCallum said there was a special ‘‘Anzac’’ bond between the Australians and New Zealanders.
‘‘The team labelled this ‘the Anzac Dive’ and the name stuck long before we were given official permission to use it.’’ — The New Zealand Herald